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Checklist: 5 Essential BaaS Features Every Mobile App Needs

Today, apps are connected with an expectation to easily store information across multiple platforms and devices while still providing immediate and instant access to the users data and files.

Backend as a Service (BaaS) provides developers with functionality such as cloud based storage, user management and push notifications that you can easily leverage in both mobile and Desktop applications without the complexity of building everything from scratch. By cloud-enabling your mobile application, you are able to increase user engagement, customer retention and gain a competitive edge over other apps.

Whether youre building a new app or updating an existing one, add these 5 BaaS features to your app and you will drive an increase in user engagement and retention. Cloud Storage

Push Notifications

Push Triggers

User Account Management

File Management

5 Essential BaaS Features

BaaS provides a set of cloud APIs enabling developers to add cloud functionality to their apps easily.

BaaS (a.k.a. MBaaS) Backend as a Service or Mobile Backend as a Service

AT A GLANCE

RAD Studio

Cloud-based user management opens up a wide range of possibilities

Manage email templates on the backend for easy

updating

Login end-users via standard username and

password fields

Add and remove usersas needed

Manage read/write access (useful for apps

with different user roles)

Sign up end-users with standard or custom

fields (first name, last name, email, age, etc.)

Define and redefine permissions and roles as

needed

Manage password changes or resets

directly in the app or by triggering a password

reset email through the backend

Automatically trigger emails based on account status or new sign ups

Login end-users with social accounts

(Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.)

TBackendStorage

TParseProvider

TBackendQuery

TApp42Provider

TKinveyProvider

COMPONENTS

ADD DATA AND OBJECT STORAGE IN THE CLOUD FOR EASY CROSS-PLATFORM DATA ACCESS

1 | Cloud-Based Data Storage

Accessing data and object storage in the cloud is one of the most popular BaaS features today. Cloud storage allows you to create, read, update or delete your data in the cloud without a dependency on a local, embedded database. The same data used in your mobile app can easily be accessed and administered within the BaaS admin panel, providing on-the-fly row, column and role management. Role management defines the access rights for each user or group of

users for your data collection. You can easily create business rules via the admin panel that are automatically enforced each time a user attempts to change or add a record, allowing you to carefully manage the type of data that is stored in your data collection. Editing and inserting data can also trigger an automatic push notification, combining the power of cloud-based storage with push notifications for added user engagement.

TBackendUsers TKinveyProvider TParseProvider

COMPONENTS

CREATE CENTRALIZED USER MANAGEMENT THAT DOESNT DISRUPT THE USER EXPERIENCE

2 | User Management

Managing your users in the cloud provides a range of options that allow you to change, update or remove functionality without disturbing the user experience. With centralized, cloud-based user management

you can update account info, define permissions and automate backend processes (like emailing) without affecting the users interaction with your application.

TApp42Provider

TBackendPush TKinveyProvider TParseProvider

COMPONENTS

AUTOMATE PUSH NOTIFICATIONS TO INCREASE USER ENGAGEMENT AND INTERACTIVITY

3 | Push Triggers

Push triggers are the key tool for automating push notifications. With push triggers, you can send regular notifications that increase user engagement within your app by triggering a push notification any time a change is made to your apps data (either by updating an existing record or inserting a new record).

The change to the data collection pushes a no-tification to all or specific end users with infor-mation on who made the change and what was

changed in the data collection. This is extreme-ly useful in collaborative applications, such as a team notes app or a social gaming app.

Define push triggers inside your BaaS admin panel and base it on engaging content that the end-user is interested in seeing regular updates for. Predefine the message in your BaaS admin panel. For general messages, use an in-app message instead of a notification so not to annoy the end-user.

TApp42Provider

TBackendPush TKinveyProvider TParseProvider

COMPONENTS

INCREASE APP LONGEVITY BY NOTIFYING USERS OF NEW AND INTERESTING CONTENT

4 | Push Notifications

Push notifications are a key element of many applications today and are a critical method for notifying the user of new and interesting content. For enterprise apps, push notifications can be used to notify users of immediate action that needs to be taken (such as a new sale) or alert you of an expiring sales contract.

For consumer apps, use push notifications to alert users of timely changes to content. For example, hotel deals based on booking history or alerts dealing with flight delays.

When push enabling your applications, providing users with functionality for customizing the types of notifications they want to receive is key. If users are receiving push notifications at a frequency they dont

like, not allowing them to customize their experience will likely lead to users disabling push notifications altogether, or deleting the application. Be sure to add a settings panel to your application that allows the user to define the type of alerts they want to receive.

Including push functionality in your app is only the first part of adding engagement. Providing the users with the ability to fine tune how they want to be notified will lead to longer user retention and greater overall app satisfaction.

For enterprise apps, users should be able to enable and disable notifications based on their type. This leads to the broadest adoption from management to the field.

TApp42Provider

Dont overuse push notifications! If your notifications are seen as annoying, users will delete your app.

TBackendPush TKinveyProvider TParseProvider

COMPONENTS

BREAK THROUGH LOCAL DEVICE STORAGE LIMITS WITH UNLIMITED CLOUD STORAGE

5 | File Management

Todays end-users expect their files to follow them and they rarely consider device space in their app usage. The last thing you want to do is destroy your apps adoption because there isnt enough space on the device or moving to a new device loses the users files.

Cloud based file management allows you to store images, videos and other data in the cloud without having to depend on limited local device storage. Use the file store APIs

to define the type of files you want your end-users to be able to store in the cloud, removing the dependency on local device storage or an embedded database.

If your app is graphic rich such as an image- or video-editing app or a database app and makes frequent use of imagery, use cloud file storage to make those images available when they are needed.

TApp42Provider

Create an option to retrieve and store files over wi-fi only so you dont use up all of the end-users cellular data.

Create an option to retrieve and store files over wi-fi only so you dont use up all of the end-users cellular data.

RAD Studio simplifies the process of implementing every one of these features in your app by standardizing and optimizing a set of services that are accessed through a common, platform-independent API. This allows you to leverage BaaS services in your apps across multiple platforms and popular providers using a single code base.

Download a Free Trial at www.embarcadero.com

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